1. Field of the Invention
The present application relates to tools for grooming animal manes, kits thereof and methods for the use of said tools and said kits.
2. Description of the Related Art
A horse""s mane is an outgrowth of hair along the dorsal aspect of the horse""s neck. In general, the hair of the main is coarse and longer than the hair of the surrounding coat. If left untended, the mane will generally appear unruly. The mane hair can extend out at varying angles and can be of uneven lengths.
Skilled artisans in the field of horse grooming have devised methods for braiding horse manes to make the horse""s hair look stylish and to compensate for faults in the horse""s physical conformation. Further, a well groomed mane is understood to attract favorable attention to the horse in the show ring setting. To be properly groomed, the mane must be clean, trimmed and arranged in an aesthetically pleasing manner.
Aesthetics of a well-groomed mane are familiar to horse groomers and show judges. For example, it is important that the braids stay straight and flush to the neck. If there are too many braids, they are unstable, breaking up a clean neck line. Braids should be tight, uniform in width, sturdy and fine. The proper number of braids should be determined by the size and shape of the horse""s neck. Braids act as an optical illusion, drawing the eye to the line of the braids instead of to any irregularities in the top line of the neck. Braids, therefore, may be different lengths if there is an arch or dip in the crest. The angle is cheated so the braids are slightly longer toward the poll than the withers. This holds true for a French-braided mane which should not drape down toward the shoulder, but lay on the edge of the crest. The line pitched as such makes the horse look rounder as it goes and closes off the throughtlatch a bit. Certain proportions of braids make the neck look long and refined or thick and short.
At times prior to initiating the braiding process, the practitioner may need to shorten the hairs of the horse mane or tail. For this purpose, some sort of cutting tool can be employed. Certain cutting tools are familiar within the art. For example, scissors can be used to cut hair to shorten it. Scissors, however, cut the hair bluntly even if used at an angle, making it more difficult to keep the braided mane tightly knotted for an aesthetic appearance. Combining scissors and a thinning comb does not alleviate this problem. Furthermore, the kit containing both utensils has a handled comb that is cumbersome and difficult to control. A tool called a grooming and thinning knife is intended to avoid the blunt cutting of scissors. This tool resembles a jack knife whose blade portion has teeth. The teeth, however, are too short to tease the horse""s hair as needed for an effective cut, and the handle makes the tool difficult to maneuver. A clipper blade (Oster, size 84AU) is made to fit the large clippers used for clipping the horse""s winter coat. This blade is dimensionally adapted for the specific clipper machine upon which it is used, and bears grooves and holes for its affixation thereupon. The clipper blade set contains a top blade and a partner bottom blade. While the top blade can be used without the clipper machine to cut the horse""s hair freehand, the shape of this blade is not specifically adapted to this purpose. Furthermore, used freehand, this blade is difficult to control, posing safety risks for the groomer and the horse and interfering with precision cutting. A pulling comb can be used to pull hair out by the roots, thereby to shorten it. However, pulling the hair out is unnecessary under circumstances where the hair is simply uneven at the bottom, and pulling the hair out is contraindicated when the mane or tail is thin. A device called the Grooma Mane Master combines a comb with a blade to permit controlled shortening of horsehair. The device has a comb with a handle and a lever. Pressing the lever engaged a blade to move out of the base of the comb. This device, however, is cumbersome to use and difficult to control. Furthermore, its mechanism and components make it expensive. Hence, while a number of products are marketed for the purpose of cutting the horse""s mane or tail hair, there remains a need in the art for a device that is easy to control, simple in design and accurate to use.
In general, the braiding process itself involves weaving strands of hair around each other and weaving yarn through the strands of hair. The final assemblage can then be folded onto itself against the neck of the horse so that the array of braids are in a straight line down the neck. A variety of previous patents have offered tools for aspects of braiding, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,810,022, 5,782,068, 5,417,230, 5,279,255, 5,275,182, and 5,022,350.
Certain types of tools are considered useful by practitioners of the art. A pullthrough or pulling device can be used for weaving the yarn through the braided hair and for pulling the completed braid onto itself. A pullthrough device can also be useful in braiding the forelock or the tail. Certain types of pullthrough devices are known in the art. For example, a braid pullthrough is available that is made of wire with an eye at one end and a hair-holding loop at the other end, in four inch and six inch lengths. The size and the stiffness of this device can limit its usefulness as an efficient braiding tool, however. Furthermore, this tool is not adapted for convenient access, since it lacks a loop, snap or other fastener to affix it in proximity to the user. Although not in use for horse braiding, a plastic device marketed under the name xe2x80x9cTopsy Turvyxe2x80x9d exists that can form human ponytails, but it is too large in scale to be used for horse manes, and its plastic composition prevents it from being adapted to custom shapes.
Assembling a collection of tools in a kit provides for easy access, facilitating convenient and safe use. Certain commercial products are known in the art that serve as kits adaptable to horse braiding. For example, a small leather pouch is available with sewn compartments that carry a pulling comb, mane clip, seam ripper, and a wire pull through. A similar product comprises a leather pouch with sewn compartments to house one hair clip, a seam ripper, pull though for pulling braid end and pulling comb. The pull through provided in this kit is a rug hook with a bent shank, a configuration with restricted usefulness. Another kit comprises a leather pouch with sewn compartments and a quick release nylon belt that houses two hair clips, seam ripper, needle, braid aid, pulling comb, and rug hook. Yet another kit comprises a leather pouch with compartments and a quick release nylon belt housing scissors, razor, spray bottle, two hair clips, seam ripper, needle, pulling comb, brush and rug hook. Each of these groupings includes tools that suffer from certain of the abovementioned limitations.
There remains in the art the need for a set of tools specifically adapted to the needs of horse hair grooming and braiding. There remains a further need for a kit to collect said tools and present them to the groomer in a convenient and accessible holder.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus for grooming horses or other animals that includes a flexible belt positionable around the neck of a groomer, a pulling tool affixable to one end of the flexible belt, and a cutter affixable to the other end of the flexible belt. The pulling tool has a loop that is dimensionally adapted for retaining a strand of yarn. The cutter is adapted for cutting yarn. The pulling tool and the cutter are affixed to the flexible belt at its ends, so that when the belt is positioned around the groomer""s neck, the pulling tool and the cutter are each reachable by the groomer""s hand. In certain embodiments, the flexible belt may bear a plurality of fasteners for attaching a plurality of tools to the belt. In one embodiment, the apparatus may further include a comb detachably attachable to the belt. In one embodiment, the comb may be graspable proximally with a plurality of teeth on its distal aspect, each of said teeth tapering as it extends distally, and each of said teeth being beveled proximally to provide at least one cutting edge.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a kit for grooming horses or other animals that includes a cord dimensionally adapted for positioning around a groomer""s neck, a pulling tool affixable to the cord and a cutter for cutting yarn, also affixable to the cord. In certain embodiments, the pulling tool has a proximal handle and a loop positioned distally for carrying within it a strand of yarn. In one embodiment, the kit may also include a comb. In another embodiment, the comb may be graspable proximally with a plurality of teeth on its distal aspect, each of said teeth tapering as it extends distally, and each of said teeth being beveled proximally to provide at least one cutting edge. In yet another embodiment, the kit may include a comb that is affixable to the cord.
The present invention also provides methods for grooming horses or other animals. One practice of the present method comprises the steps of providing a grooming apparatus positionable around the neck of a groomer that includes a pulling tool and a cutter, positioning the grooming apparatus around the groomer""s neck, separating a section of mane hair, braiding a first portion of the section, braiding a second portion of the section to include a strand of yarn, securing the strand of yarn when the complete braid has been formed, pulling with the pulling tool a distal end of the complete braid under the proximal portion of mane hair, securing the distal end under the proximal portion of horse mane hair, and trimming excess yarn with the cutter.